Author: Major Dan

Major Dan

Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

A Brief History On June 26, 2019, the third installment of the Annabelle haunted doll movie franchise opens across the United States.  We had the opportunity to preview the film last week, and as fans of the first 2 films, we were anxiously awaiting this third movie in the Annabelle portion of the Conjuring movie universe.  This time, instead of the doll itself being possessed by a malevolent spirit, the doll is a portal for other malevolent spirits. Digging Deeper The departure in the concept of how the evil works may bother some finicky “purists” that insist all prequels and…

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A Brief History On June 23, 1942, Oberleutnant Armin Faber of the German Luftwaffe made an historic blunder when he landed his state of the art Focke-Wulf 190 fighter plane at a Welsh airfield at RAF Pembrey, handing the British Germany’s latest and best fighter aircraft complete and in flyable condition.  Faber apparently mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel which caused his navigational error.  So eager were the British to capture an example of the FW-190 they actually considered mounting a commando raid in order to steal one of the high performance fighters.  Lucky for the British, Armin…

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A Brief History On June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates, a Texas mother of 5, former high school valedictorian and swim team captain, decided she had to save her children from Satan.  Her solution to the “problem” was to drown all 5 of the unfortunate youngsters in the family bathtub.  On July 26, 2006, a Texas jury in her retrial found that Yates was not guilty by reason of insanity.  She was consequently committed by the court to the North Texas State Hospital, Vernon Campus, a high-security mental health facility in Vernon, where she received medical treatment and was a roommate…

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A Brief History On June 18, 1923, an American legend was born when the first Checker Taxi Cab hit the street in Chicago, the product of a Russian American Jewish immigrant named Morris Markin.  Having immigrated to the United States in 1912 at the age of 19, Markin narrowly missed the European conflagration that was World War I.  An ambitious and determined businessman, he manufactured pants for the US Government during World War I before turning to the growing automobile industry in 1921. Digging Deeper Markin’s move into the auto industry was of major significance to the future of the…

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A Brief History On June 16, 2019, Americans celebrate the annual day devoted to giving dad across the country neckties and coffee cups, maybe even T-shirts, usually with some sort of “World’s Greatest Dad” themed logo emblazoned on the gift.  Today we take the opportunity to recognize 10 Great Fathers, both real and fictional.  In this case, we are not defining “Great” as particularly good or wonderful, but more along the lines of “famous.” Digging Deeper 1. Adam. The original Dad! (Unless you count “God the Father” if you are so inclined.)  Even this venerable first father could not keep…

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